Luis León Sánchez (Rabobank) took his second successive Spanish time trial title – and his third in total – with a fine performance on the road to Vall d'Uixó, while pre-race favourite Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank-SunGard) could only manage third.
In what was his first competitive outing since winning the Giro d’Italia in May, Contador struggled to match León Sanchez, and finished 1:12 down at the finish. Jonathan Castroviejo (Euskaltel-Euskadi) sprung something of a surprise to squeeze ahead of Contador and onto the second step of the podium.
The day belonged to León Sanchez, however, as he set a scorching pace right from the off. The Rabobank man was 19 seconds clear of Castroviejo and 24 ahead of Contador at the first intermediate check, just shy of the halfway mark.
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